What are you binge watching?

[nelsonmuntz]

Helen Mirren's character isn't stupid exactly, she a powerful matriarch. She cares less about the business than about the blood. Protecting her grandson is more important than protecting the business. She's also the most ruthless and most evil person in the organization. She has no moral compass at all. She's not Sonny, imagine a female Jimmy Conway (DeNiro) married to Paulie in Goodfellas. That's her.

Spoiler

The obvious move is to get rid of the grandson. It was a staggering lack of discipline by the kid and disrespectful to Conrad. If she is so ruthless, why is she defending her idiot grandson that puts the rest of her family at risk? It actually makes her look stupid and sentimental.

 

[j66kicker]

A year late, but finally caught up to "Fallout" on Prime. binged all 8 episodes (first one is 1-1/2 hours, but then they get shorter). Great science fiction/distopian future type thing. Highly recommend.

I read they expect a season 2 in early 2026.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Mythic Quest, Season 4 is really good. There are also 4 Side Quest episodes which are very, very good. Side Quest are episodes about the fictional game in the show from the fans or supporting characters perspectives.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

The Franchise (Max) - This is a really good show from the team that did Veep. It is just a funny show mocking Hollywood that was entertaining and surprising, and of course it was cancelled after one season. Worth the watch though.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

White Lotus Season 3 - through Episode 3 feels a bit recycled, but the writers are good at manufacturing suspense so it is entertaining. Two casting complaints:

1) Goggins has a pretty narrow lane as an actor and this character is not in it.

2) I like Jason Isaac a lot, but he was badly miscast. It isn’t just the accent. These patrician southerners are just different, and Isaac doesn’t pull it off.

 

[nwhoopfan]

2) I like Jason Isaac a lot, but he was badly miscast. It isn’t just the accent. These patrician southerners are just different, and Isaac doesn’t pull it off.

I thought Parker Posey as his wife was also badly miscast. That whole family was one big mess. I gave up somewhere in the middle of episode 4 or 5 and have no regrets about quitting.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Andor Season 2 has dropped (first 3 episodes) and it continues to be very good.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Andor Season 2 has dropped (first 3 episodes) and it continues to be very good.

I was really late to the party, Hulu just got Season 1 recently. Really enjoyed it, looking forward to seeing Season 2 when I get a chance.

 

[storrsroars]

The Bondsman. Stars Kevin Bacon as a bail bondsman who gets killed by a perp. Then he is somehow un-killed. Then the phone starts ringing and he gets a visit when he ignores it. It seems somebody with the power to bring him back needs his particular skills. Haven't seen past episode 1. It's on Prime, half hour episodes and looks promising as a fun, easy to watch show. Bacon is great in the role.

I'm three episodes in. Paranormal stuff isn't usually my cup of tea, but the comedic elements here, Bacon, and the 30 minute run time make this an enjoyable watch.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

I thought Parker Posey as his wife was also badly miscast. That whole family was one big mess. I gave up somewhere in the middle of episode 4 or 5 and have no regrets about quitting.

I won't argue that anyone should keep going with this show. It is OK, but is repetitive with prior seasons

Isaacs' casting is distracting and takes away from the show. They also didn't write the character correctly. It should have been more like the lead in a Man in Full or even David Ogden Stiers character in Doc Hollywood. Albert Finney in Big Fish (great actor who also couldn't pull off the accent, although Ewan McGregor did a better job in the flashback scenes) was written a lot better than Isaacs' character in White Lotus. Even those characters are not what they should have been looking for with this character. Southern patricians are just a little different, and I know this from having worked on a few projects with people like this over the years. The accent is softer, and the sense of entitlement greater, among the multi-generational southern wealthy. If a big theme of White Lotus is "eat the rich", then they need to get the rich characters right. The Timothy Ratliff character was a big missed opportunity.

Edit: Just watched the final episode of Season 3. It pissed me off.

 

[Bobol]

I highly recommend Amazon Prime police drama “On Call” which scored a 92% audience approval on Rotten Tomatoes.

 

[LIuconn]

I couldn’t get into The Studio. I’m not a fan of Seth Rogen’s shouting vulgarities comedy style. I thought an older version of him would tone it down but 2 eps in it’s the same stuff.

Finished Bosch Legacy Season 3. Good at best, not up to the standard of previous Bosch seasons

 

[John]

I won't argue that anyone should keep going with this show. It is OK, but is repetitive with prior seasons

Isaacs' casting is distracting and takes away from the show. They also didn't write the character correctly. It should have been more like the lead in a Man in Full or even David Ogden Stiers character in Doc Hollywood. Albert Finney in Big Fish (great actor who also couldn't pull off the accent, although Ewan McGregor did a better job in the flashback scenes) was written a lot better than Isaacs' character in White Lotus. Even those characters are not what they should have been looking for with this character. Southern patricians are just a little different, and I know this from having worked on a few projects with people like this over the years. The accent is softer, and the sense of entitlement greater, among the multi-generational southern wealthy. If a big theme of White Lotus is "eat the rich", then they need to get the rich characters right. The Timothy Ratliff character was a big missed opportunity.

Edit: Just watched the final episode of Season 3. It pissed me off.

The finale is definitely a let down. I did enjoy the season though, and as usual the location and beautiful cinematography are half the show anyway. I know you didn't like the Issacs handling of his character, but my biggest irritation was the Parker Posey character, it was nails on the chalkboard overacting.

 

[ZooCougar]

Last of Us S1 was one of the best things I have ever seen.

S2 is perhaps one of the worst things I have ever seen.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Last of Us S1 was one of the best things I have ever seen.

S2 is perhaps one of the worst things I have ever seen.

Haven't finished it. I thought Season 1 was good, but not great. Can we perhaps admit that Bella Ramsey just isn't that good? She's certainly not likeable. Pedro is just so over-exposed right now.

 

[ZooCougar]

Haven't finished it. I thought Season 1 was good, but not great. Can we perhaps admit that Bella Ramsey just isn't that good? She's certainly not likeable. Pedro is just so over-exposed right now.

The writing is just pretty bad. Characters don’t react to things they way people should react. Like when Ellie explains that she is immune to someone the character does something else besides ask a hundred questions.

Also due to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs I have a hard time buying into humans playing WW3 with eachother given that all parties are being hunted into extinction.

 

[iri10]

Also due to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs I have a hard time buying into humans playing WW3 with eachother given that all parties are being hunted into extinction.

That's one thing I can accept. So long as there are resources with major shortages (in this case, old world supplies, places that are defensible), there will be people irrationally fighting over them. Hardcore religion just sweetens the deal.

In unrelated TV stuff, this week's packet of Andor episodes (7-9) was phenomenal.

 

[ZooCougar]

That's one thing I can accept. So long as there are resources with major shortages (in this case, old world supplies, places that are defensible), there will be people irrationally fighting over them. Hardcore religion just sweetens the deal.

In unrelated TV stuff, this week's packet of Andor episodes (7-9) was phenomenal.

Really? Because when I place myself in their shoes with what they are up against I don't see it, particular when conflict has a way of attracting the zombies. Also, you'd be surprised how quickly people would stop worrying about things like voting and rights. Sad but true.

The Last of Us is incredibly shoddy now. They seem to go to great lengths in making clothes and the environment look deteriorated. But when it comes to guns and military hardware every looks parade ready. Like in the episode where they first showed the WLF. They show HMMWV and a Stryker that are practically brand spanking new and working. Yeah right.


I had a few people warn me that I should expect a less than great second season because they played the second game and they were right.


As for Andor? I had the first three episodes on in the background. Third episode there is still the same wedding going on and it's now a rave. Disney sucks.

 

[ZooCougar]

The Studio on Apple is pretty good.

It's in part a homage to an amazing movie called The Player (92?) with Tim Robbins. The show is even shot in Robert Altman style but lacks the dark black comedy undertone. The CEO of the studio's name is even Griffin Mill, but it's not the same Griffin Mill.

Other than that Rogen and Company did a good job of reading the room in regards to the public sentiment towards Hollywood. The show is basically satirical criticism of the movie biz. They make fun of the absurd propensity to go overboard with wokeness, the cynical drive to profits and how it's hard to make great movies instead of profitable ones; Rogen's character kills a Scorsese project about Jonestown in favor of a Barbie-esque movie about Kool-Aid.

In the latest episode the characters are freaking out over what ethnicity the Kool-Aid Man should be. In the midst of it they glaze over a decision to use AI generated art instead of actual artists showing that they have lost all sight of the bigger picture.

 

[temery]

It refers to an episode of "Happy Days" when Fonzie jumped over a shark tank on a motorcycle. Basically when a show has run out of stories and character arcs and has to resort to totally outlandish gimmicks, it has jumped the shark. IMO many shows go too long and end up at that point.

But the show definitely started out well and I enjoyed the various characters and their chemistry together.


edit--oops, Fonzie jumped a shark while water skiing, not on a motorcycle

The funny thing about the jumping the shark episode was it seems to have had very little effect on the popularity of the show. Happy Days went on to have six more years of success.

 

[ZooCougar]

The term Jumping the Shark has jumped the shark. So overused.

 

[Deepster]

Last of Us S1 was one of the best things I have ever seen.

S2 is perhaps one of the worst things I have ever seen.

I really liked Season 1. And I just rewatched it prepping for Season 2.

I watched S2E1 last night and groaned at the teen angst/tough guy overracting by Elle/lesbian love story angle. I'm hoping this doesn't turn into a soap opera like The Walking Dead did.

 

[ZooCougar]

I really liked Season 1. And I just rewatched it prepping for Season 2.

I watched S2E1 last night and groaned at the teen angst/tough guy overracting by Elle/lesbian love story angle. I'm hoping this doesn't turn into a soap opera like The Walking Dead did.

That hope would be in vain.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

The term Jumping the Shark has jumped the shark. So overused.

The funny thing about the jumping the shark episode was it seems to have had very little effect on the popularity of the show. Happy Days went on to have six more years of success.

It is a good term, but Happy Days was always kind of a shallow, silly show that was not meant to be taken seriously. It is hard to "jump the shark" in a show like that.

Is there an equivalent term for Miami Vice? That went from being one of the coolest, edgiest shows in TV history to a bad soap opera. If the show had ended after its second season, it would be considered one of the best shows of all time. Instead, brought people back to life and UFOs and whatever happened to Sonny Crocket at the end of season 4. The last two seasons are tragic.

 

[Waquoit]

It is a good term, but Happy Days was always kind of a shallow, silly show that was not meant to be taken seriously. It is hard to "jump the shark" in a show like that.

Yeah, but... I was never a fan of the show at the start it was at least a normal sit-com. By the time of the shark, it was more like a revue. The audience would go overly bonkers on every intro. Everything was exaggerated for effect. Kinda like midnight at Rocky Horror.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

The Four Seasons (Netflix) - Tina Fey remake of Alan Alda's successful 1981 Romantic dramedy. I have not seen the original, although I probably will after watching this. Fey's version is both well done and depressing. With two exceptions (Claude and Ginny), the characters are fairly unlikeable. Tina Fey's character in particular is unpleasant and nasty enough that by the 5th episode, I was not hoping for her to have a happy ending. It is still an interesting study of people entering the back part of their life and funny at times.

 

[John]

Wrapping up The Pitt on Max - not normally a medical show kind of guy, but was really sucked in by this show. Thought the concept (each episode is 1 hour in a shift at an ER in Pittsburgh), story pace and actors/characters are top shelf.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Andor (Season 2) is excellent.

A little extra money (or in Andor's case, a ton of extra money) goes a long way to making the show more interesting and credible. Better acting, better sets, better writing. A small example is the wedding in episode 3 being choreographed to be big, intense and exciting, making Mothma’s detachment more pronounced. Most shows now go for cheap background shots at weddings with a few extras milling about, whereas Andor went cinematic and it made the episode so much more interesting.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Andor (Season 2) is excellent.

A little extra money (or in Andor's case, a ton of extra money) goes a long way to making the show more interesting and credible. Better acting, better sets, better writing. A small example is the wedding in episode 3 being choreographed to be big, intense and exciting, making Mothma’s detachment more pronounced. Most shows now go for cheap background shots at weddings with a few extras milling about, whereas Andor went cinematic and it made the episode so much more interesting.

Commented to my daughter that the sets are fantastic. There's a scene in a store and you can see the detail they went to in putting actual products with unique labels in the weird Star Wars writing on every shelf. It felt entirely authentic.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Commented to my daughter that the sets are fantastic. There's a scene in a store and you can see the detail they went to in putting actual products with unique labels in the weird Star Wars writing on every shelf. It felt entirely authentic.

I have noted this with the Agency on Paramount, and I will throw in MobLand on Paramount. Spend the money, because it makes a huge difference. The Agency has some plot problems, but Fassbender and the rest of the cast is fantastic, and the scenes look great, so you get past it. In MobLand, Hardy, Brosnan, Mirren and Considine are so strong that they look past some of Hardy's plot armor.

An example in the other direction is Netflix's Unstable. After a solid first season, the second season is a mess (I stopped a few minutes into Episode 2), with hacky writing and a cast that is not able to step up into bigger roles.